Receptacle opener



Oct. 9, 1934. N. P. COURTNEY 1,975,780

RECEPTACLE OPENER Filed Jan. 2, 1932 Patented Oct. 9, 1934 RECEPTACLE OPENER I Nicholas Courtney, Passaic, N. Application January ,12, 1932, Serial No. 586,139

9 Claims.

This invention relates to openers for friction top cans or analogous receptacles and aims to providecertain improvements therein.v

In Patent No. 1,826,7 10, I have described and j claimed an opener for cans of this type which comprises 'what is in effect a lever fulcrumed at the bead of the can top and which is designed to bear against some portion of the can in order to pry upward the can top from its frictional engage- -'1 0 ment with the can.

.- 115 dle should project in a. general radial direction away from the can top and lie either in a plane which is parallel to that of the can top or in a plane which is not excessively angular thereto.

Such a handle is useful in connection with tops" of cans of various kinds but finds its greatest field of usefulness in connection with cans in which some type of solid orsemi-solidfuel is packed, such as that-ordinarilyknown as canned jheat. In utilizing such fuels it is customary to employ a stand for the utensil to be heated, be-

neath which the can itself is arranged, and it is also customary to use the-can top as an extinguisher. For this purpose a can opener which is extended upwardly at right angles to the can top would prevent placing of the top over the flame by a movement sideways of the can, which movement is ordinarily made necessary by the type ofutensil stand employed. By the present invention the top can be easily inserted edgewise 5 beneath the top of the stand. So far as I am aware, no means have been provided for a friction top can or the like which will serve as a handle extending in the general directions above referred to.

whereinI combine such. a handle with a can opener I construct the implement in two parts namely, a prying portion and a handle portion. The prying portion is fulcrumed upon and hinged to the edge of the can top, and by preference the hinging is permanent. That is to say, the implement is in the preferred form applied to the ,7 can top as a fixture before the can top'is originally friction flange or flanges. In the preferred form In the preferred construction of the invention the handle portion has a dual relationship to the prying portion,,that isto say, in its position as an opening implement it is rigidly connected with the pryingportion in a position in which it .will lie generally across the can top and to a considerable extent below ,theupper edge-of the .lat- .ter, in which condition the can may be shipped and stacked as usual.

After the can has been opened, the handle portion may be readjusted with relation to the prying portion so that'iiti lies approximately at right angles to its former position and in aplane more. or less parallel withthe top itself. By preference also the handle portion is permanently connected with theprying: portion and the adjustment referred'to is made without bodily"disconnectionof the two. H I V The invention also includes other features of novelty which will be hereinafter more fully described; By referring to the drawing, which 11- lustrates oneform of the invention,---

Figure 1 is a plan of a can showing theim plement in position as a can opener,-in which position it is customarily shipped.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the top-showing the implement adjusted to the position of a handle. 7

Fig.3 is a side view of the top of Fig. 2,'showing the implement in thelp'osition of Fig. '2 and on the rear side of the top. n r

Fig. 4 is a View partly in diametrical section, showing theimplement during the act of prying up a can top.

Fig. 5 is an underside view of the prying section detached.

Fig. 6 is an elevation thereof.

Fig. 7 is an end view thereof.

1; Fig. 8 is an underside view of the handle porion.

Fig. 9 is a section on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8."

Fig. 10 is a detail showing the method of v change of position.

Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a fuel can in a position beneath its stand with the implement acting as a handle.

Referring, to the drawing, let A indicate a: 199 can of the usual friction type having atop B. This type of can is provided with a friction joint at C, the can top being depressed to enter the aperture bounded bythe inturned flange 'D of the can. The top B is usually provided with some sort of marginal bead E.

In the preferred form wherein the implement is used as a prying implement as well as ahandle, the pryingportioncomprises-a body portion F having. a camining section G which ex-xll.

tends radially outward beyond the bead E of the top and then downwardly and inwardly, as best shown in Fig. 4. In the specific type shown, the extreme end H of the prying portion G constitutes one of the hinging members of the part F, being designed to underlie the bead E. In this construction a tongue or tongues, such as I, I, may be struck down from the body portion F to constitute the complemental member of the hinge; This tongue or tongues lie on the opposite side of the metal of the can top, and together with the portion H provide a fulcrum, by means of which, if the body portion F is tilted upwardly from the position of Fig. 1, thecamming section engages the can body and 'pries oiI the can top, as illustrated in Fig'. 4. The top.

of the can is shown in Fig. 4 ashaving a circumferential ridge P which serves to make the can top more rigid and to strengthen it, particularly at the point where it is subjected to pressure by the prying portion G of'the opener when said opener is being operated to pry the cover from' a can. Such a circumferential strengthening ridge is not claimed herein, since it is described and claimed in my copending application, Serial No. 614,966. 'Thisform of hinge also permits the shifting of the implement bodily to any point around the can top so as to secure the progressive prying heretofore referred to.

For operating the prying portion I provide a handle such as J, which is adapted in one posimerit .of the parts in arriving at these two positions, I prefer :to make the'connections in such fashion that detachment is difiicult or impossible. Various methods may be resorted to in accomplishing this result, but that shown comprises a. tongue K having a head L, the tongue passing through a slot or opening M in the prying portion, and a head lying beneath the body of the prying portion. The handle portion is also provided with flanges N, N which are designed to embrace the side edges of the prying portion, as best seen in the dotted line position of Fig. 10. The slot M is of such dimensions as to permit a sliding movement of the handle portion relatively to the prying portion whereby the flanges N are disengaged and the handle is then capable .of angular movement with relation to the prying portion.

The efiect of this construction is that the flanges N, N act to substantially rigidly connect the two portions during the prying operation, the tongue with its head being inactive. When these'fianges are disengaged, however, and the handle moved angularly, for instance to the dotted position of Fig. 4, the head of the tongue bears against the underside of the prying portion and prevents further angular movement, the edges 0 of the handle portion contacting with the upper surface of the prying portion. The full line position of Fig. 10 shows the disengagement of the flanges N, N and the parts in condition to tilt to the position of Fig. 4 and slightly beyond the latter when the can cover is detached from the can.

Fig. 11 shows one useful function of the inven tion as applied to a fuel can, it being observed that as the handle is extended radially outward from the can top the latter may be slipped under any upper obstructiomsuchas the stand P, and

the cover applied as an extinguisher without danger of burning the hand. Other conditions exist wherein the handle described herein is useful. 7

While the handle may be utilized as a separate article, I prefer to combine it with the opener, and while the details of construction herein set forth may be greatly departed from without lying outside the scope of the invention, I have found the construction described as simple and efficient.

In the claims I have used the word radial as applied to the handle to mean that the latter extends outward beyond the periphery of the top, either in the plane of the top or in some other planewhich is sufiiciently remote from a right angle to the plane of the top to make the device useful as a handle. The word radial does not exclude a tangential positionv of the handle so long as it lies outside the periphery of the top.

What .I claim is:

1. The combination with a friction top receptac1e, the top being imperforate and having a marginal bead, of a handle hinged to said head at one side of the top only and comprising a hinging portion movable to a position'above the top only, and a handle portion connected to the 100 hing'ing portion and movable to a position radially outward from the top, and means limiting the movement of the handle to a position approxi- 'mately in the plane of the top whereby in such position the top may be supported by the handle. I05

2. The combination with a friction top receptacle of a handle hinged to the edge of the top, and movable circumferentially around such edge,

and adapted to be moved from a position over 4. The combination with a friction topweep- 1 20 tacle of an opener therefor, said opener having a prying portion and a handle portion, the handle portion having two operative positions with rela tion to the prying portion, in one of which it lies normally over the top .and forms a connectionii25 with the prying portion. for removing the top,

and in the other of which it extends radially of thetop and forms a handle for the latter.

5. An implement having a prying portion and a handle portion, having a sliding connectionE-f30 between them holdingthem in general alignment, and the parts being constructed to engage them in angular relation when the sliding connection is displaced. 5

6. An implement having a prying portion an a handle portion, one embracing the other to hold them in general alignment, said parts movable out of such embracing relationship, andhaving a tongue connection for preventing them from moving past an angular relation.

'7. An implement having aprying portion and a handle portion, one embracing the other to hold them in general alignment, said parts. movable out of such embracing relationship and having a tongue connection for preventing them from moving past an angular relation in combination with a top of a friction receptacle, and means on said prying portion fo hinging it to the edge of said top. Q v 8. The combination with a friction top recep tacle of a handle comprising two parts, the first of which is a portion hinged to the top of the receptacle, the hinge connection being such as to prevent such portion from moving outwardly to a plane substantially parallel with the plane of the top, and the second portion being a handle portion and having a movable connection with the first portion to permit it to swing into substantially the plane of the top, and means for holding the second portion in such a plane to constitute a handle for the top.

9. The combination with a friction top receptacle of an opener therefor, said opener comprising two portions, the first being a prying portion hinged to the top, the hinged joint being such that the prying portion can not move to a position outwardly of the top to form a handle, and the second portion being a handle portion and being rigidly connectible to the prying portion in two different positions, in one of which it operates to move the prying portion to move the can top, and in the other of which it extends outwardly to form a handle for the can top, the connection between the second and first portions being rigid in each position in the direction of strain.

NICHOLAS P. COURTNEY. 

